The Day the Sheep Came to Church

During the month of May the loving members and families of First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, came together and participated in Heifer International's Fill the Ark program to provide real-life solutions to end world hunger and to show that one person, one family, and one congregation can make a difference in today’s world.

The first week, Fill the Ark calendars and banks were passed out to all. Each week thereafter the Fill the Ark banks were emptied into a jar with the goal of collecting enough money for two sheep. At the end of the four weeks enough funds were raised to purchase four sheep and several chickens.

What a success!

As an incentive to the children young and old, the pastor of our church agreed to kiss one sheep for each sheep donated. This is a Pastor that stands by what he preaches and he kissed all four sheep brought to the church after Sunday services!

This event has filled our faith community’s heart with loving joy, and we know it will help Heifer International provide self-sustaining nourishment and clothing to families in need. Ultimately the four sheep can breed and provide for a whole community.

Thank you Heifer International for allowing First Church of Christ to help you end poverty by helping people help themselves.

Loving Congregation of the First Church of Christ Pittsfield, Massachusetts

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The end of hunger isn’t a fairy tale

Welcome to the Heifer family. Donors, volunteers, recipients and our teams around the world share a common goal: To end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. It’s a lofty goal, but we know it's achievable. Together we are the family that can create this change.

Togetherwe can makecows fly

See stories of how lives are being transformed around the globe through Heifer's work in more than 40 countries.

I first heard about Heifer in the late 90's when I had graduated from Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine and was practicing as a mixed-animal veterinarian in central Pennsylvania. (I am originally from Selma, Alabama.) One day as I was traveling my route doing my scheduled herd checks, checking cows for pregnancy, I noticed that farm after farm had missing farmers. This really was strange because my farmers hardly ever went on vacation. I finally asked where everyone was and was told that they had accompanied a shipment of heifers overseas for a group called Heifer International...

Olivia Demberg, a young Heifer International supporter, recently sent the following letter to Heifer CEO Pierre Ferrari detailing a project proposal that she pitched to ShurTech Brands CEO. Click on the story title to learn more about Olivia's unique and inspiring initiative...

Our students were very honored that they were able to donate money to help others through Heifer International. The boys and girls competed against each other to see who could raise the most money and then we combined it and had the Consumer Math Class find out all the different ways we could spend the funds. The students enjoyed themselves and were pleasantly surprised when they got the box of pencils and pins. It was a very kind gesture and the students still continue to brag about how wonderful they think the pencils are. Enclosed is a group picture of the students who donated.
Thank you again.
Melissa King, OCA Teacher

"My 9-year old daughter, Anabeth, was inspired by a story she read in school where a young girl's family received a goat. That family sold the goat's milk and it allowed the young girl to attend school. After reading the story, Anabeth came home and found Heifer International. She browsed through the pages until she decided that she wanted to raise $500 on her own to buy a heifer. She took all of her birthday money, scrounged up all the change in the house, called family and friends, asked church members and even spent a Sunday selling lemonade and tea to raise the $500 she needed in less than two weeks! Donations came pouring in when people heard about what she was doing. Today, we were able to purchase the heifer for her. We are so proud of her and the impact she has made on our community."
After checking in with Anabeth's mom, she replied with an incredible update on Friday, March 20, 2015!
"Also, since I emailed, I wanted to let you know that she has officially earned an excess of $150 above her goal! Now that she has purchased her heifer, she is going to purchase a goat and some chicks after school today. She is very excited.
She has also inspired at least three other kids in her class who are saving for water buffaloes and heifers as we speak."

At the beginning of March 2015, Heifer International received a flier from Kate Prominski and Betsy Svanda, 7th grade Social Studies teachers in Michigan. The adorable flier detailed a fundraiser that they hosted with their students. It reads:
"The Lakewood 7th grade Social Studies class has been studying Africa and feel compelled to raise funds for the Heifer Project.
Heifer International is a global non-profit with the goal of ending poverty and hunger in a sustainable fashion.
Our goal is to raise $620, which will buy two water buffalos ($500) and a pig ($120). The coins will be collected until Friday, February 13th!"
After reaching out to Kate, we discovered that this wasn't the first time they had hosted this fundraiser. She shared that the Coins for Cows fundraiser is an annual event for the 7th grade Social Studies teachers. A few years ago their students were so enthusiastic that they were able to raise over $1,000! Kate went on to say:
"Betsy and I put together a funny video of us finding change in different places in order to encourage the kids to donate. We kept a daily total and challenged the students each day by showing them an inspirational video found on YouTube from Heifer. Every student who donated was able to sign our 'Heifer' poster. By the end of the fundraiser, our poster was filled with almost a hundred names of students who made this fundraiser a success. We are proud to say our students exceeded our goal and raised over $624."
Kate ended her email thanking Heifer for all that we do, but truly, from the bottoms of our hearts, we want to thank those 7th grade Social Studies students for so enthusiastically supporting Heifer's mission!

Dear Heifer International,
We are a class at a school in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Every month we sell coffee and cookies at a cafe we have named the Wildcat Cafe. We use the money we make to go on field trips, buy things for our classroom and for special projects.
This month we decided to donate part of the money we made to your organization. Our class voted and decided to buy a hive of honeybees for someone in need.
We are happy to see the money we earned put to good use.
Sincerely,
Ms. Steinke, Ms. Rodeman, Mrs. Welch, Mrs. Surtees, Ellen, Melissa, Desmon, Brendan, Brandon and Abbe

I'm happy to enclose a check for $200 raised by our first grade students through a cookie sale and family donations! Our students were very enthusiastic in the roles they played to help purchase animals for needy families. Their awareness of the needs of others was heightened and the realization that children can make a difference in our big world was made clear. I've included a picture of three of our students with our learning fair display. Thank you for your assistance with our project!
Sincerely,
Mary Smith

Dear Heifer International,
I really enjoyed doing this project to help kids in need. We raised $835.00. With that money we bought four animals and two items. We even had money left over. I think more kids should do this project. What if it was you that would be able to go to school or to get a goat? You would be very excited. I like helping kids in need. That's what I like about this project. It gives kids the opportunity to have a pet or go to school. Thank you.
Sincerely,
H.E.S.

Dear Heifer International,
I hope that the 4th grade's purchase of a water buffalo, an irrigation pump, sending a girl to school, a goat, a flock of chickens, ducks and geese really help a family. What I really like is that the gift of the animals purchased aren't just going to be used for one family, but it's a gift that keeps on giving. I look forward to knowing that a family has been changed! I really hope this will make a difference in a family!
Sincerely,
Maisy

In June of 2014, Heifer International received the featured letters from a classroom of second graders in California. Along with these letters was a very generous donation towards a Flock of Hope, raised at their school's annual Spring Fling. Their letters read...

Noah's note reads:
"To you from me.
Hi, I am Noah. I helped raise money for your goat. I hope you enjoy goat's milk. I live far away from you in a place called West Chester in a state called Ohio in a country called the U.S.A. I hope this goat brings you lots of joy.
Your U.S.A. friend: Noah"

"Dear Heifer International,
Please accept the enclosed donation for the purchase of six flocks of chickens. This is the fifth year in a row that the students of Messiah Lutheran Church and School's Vacation Bible School have donated money to Heifer as their "Caring and Sharing" mission project. This year from July 15 - 19, 37 students and 31 volunteer staff exceeded their goal of three flocks of chickens! This was the most successful VBS mission project to date! Everyone was very excited about this accomplishment!
We are a small, older congregation and the VBS program is an important part of our ministry. Heifer's goals of ending hunger by providing animals to families in need of better nutrition and added income fits well with our "Caring and Sharing" project.
Many of our students return year after year and some have become volunteer staff as they got older. They are all familiar with Heifer and look forward to seeing which animal will be selected each year.
We anticipate many more years of joining with Heifer International and introducing many new students to the Heifer program.
Sincerely,
Mike & Nancy Keeton"

"In March (of 2014), the elementary Art Department at Hilton Central Schools hosted an Empty Bowls fundraiser to raise money for the fight against hunger. Students in 3rd through 6th grades each made a handcrafted bowl in art class to donate to the cause. On March 5th, we hosted a simple meal of soup and bread and sold the bowls for $5 each. In total, we raised $2,135.25, which we are donating to The Bridge of Rochester, The Hilton Cadet Cupboard and Heifer International.
With many thanks for your service and all you do for this cause,
The Hilton Elementary Art Department (Ariana D'Angelo, Samantha Powley, Laurie Steele-Sperber, Jan Dentino and Emilie Sears) and our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade students!"

My daughter had a fundraiser birthday party. Thirteen children were in attendance and many donated cash and checks toward her goal (to donate the gift of education to a girl). We were very excited to see how many people supported this cause and donated.
Thank you for the opportunity to support such a good cause and to help me teach my children to give with their whole heart.
- Elaine Eggert
PS: It rained that night so we ended up having it indoors. We still had a blast!

As part of the Environmental Charter School’s (ECS in Pittsburgh, PA) ongoing goal to make a positive difference in our community, we decided to extend that goal to the global community and launched the “Read to Feed” initiative. Kindergarten to third grade students were sponsored for each minute that they read totaling an hour. The end of the four week fundraiser coincided with the Read Across America day on March 2nd. On that day, the donations were counted and our students read for one hour during the day. Our fundraising goal for ECS was $500. We doubled our goal and raised $1,000. Way to go ECS!
- Shannon Shupak

The GFWC Morris Golden Star Juniorette Club is a group of sixth grade girls who joined the General Federation of Women's Clubs in the Fall of 2013. They are the first juniorette club in Minnesota. They chose Heifer International as their main project for 2015 and got busy making money. They were excited about being able to choose the animals they wanted with the money they raised. The projects they worked on to earn money were: a rummage sale, collection cans in local businesses, helping at the Lions Club bingo booth at the county fair, a L'BRI show and a Tastefully Simple show. They sent a $600.00 check to Heifer International along with the list of the animals they wanted to purchase. They worked hard and had a lot of fun learning that they can actually help someone less fortunate.

“All you have to do is give your change to make a change in the world.” Perla, business letter excerpt
Every year, the freshman class at Los Angeles High School of the Arts (LAHSA) raises money to support Heifer International through a semester-long project called “Change for Change.” LAHSA is a theater arts-focused school that uses project-based learning to integrate the arts and academics and give students real-world experiences.

This shirt is a fundraiser for Phi Sigma Pi - Gamma Sigma at Missouri State University. All the money raised will go to Heifer International to buy an animal for one of Heifer's project participants. Giving an animal is like giving someone a small business, providing wool, milk, eggs and more. Animal donations can provide families a hand up, increasing access to medicine, school, food and a sustainable livelihood. Depending on how much money is raised we can buy a pig, goat, cow, chickens, ducks or even a water buffalo!! Please help us raise as much money as possible by buying this awesome Pi Day Shirt!! Please visit the following link to purchase a shirt: http://teespring.com/pi-day-shirt-profits-go-to-he.

A few weeks ago, Heifer International heard from Anne Nixon-Ellery with St. Charles Borromeo church. She briefly described an upcoming event that her church was hosting with a link to the focus of their Heifer International fundraiser.
"Hello! We are having A Living Gift Market on March 4th to raise money for this amazing charity. I have also designed a tee shirt; all profits will go to Heifer. It's available for a few more days: http://teespring.com/heifer-fundraiser."
Needless to say, we had to learn more. I reached out to Anne and she shared the following with me:

At Canyon Creek in Austin, Texas we were studying how the economic system works and wanted to raise money to make the world a better place. Our students voted for Heifer International. They then got busy and made items that they could sell. Many were recycled projects or crafts that kids would like. They learned about supply, demand, cost, production, advertising and sales. I am thrilled that these 62 students raised $ 1,500 for you. You have inspired them to be entrepreneurs and to give back to the world around them.

Dear Heifer International....
First of all, I would like to say how inspired I am by your organization's work. As a young child, my parents used to read Faith the Cow by Susan Boomer to me, and my mother also has donated to Heifer for my and my cousin's Christmas gifts every year. Through these actions, my parents have fostered in me an immense respect for Heifer International, and have helped me to learn the value of generosity and importance of huger relief. I am truly enamored with this organization's work, and I am especially inspired by the concept of "passing on the gift."
For a project in an art class this semester, I made a drawing inspired by Heifer and would like to share it with you.
Thank you very much,
Lily W.
Clark School for Creative Learning Class of 2015